iPhone AppStore Secrets - Pinch Media

iPhone AppStore Secrets - Pinch Media

30,000,000 Downloads?! (Actually, it’s a fair bit more than that by now.) • Since AppStore launch, Pinch Media has provided developers with an analyUcs library to monitor app usage – unique users, sessions, usage Ume, etc. • Since AppStore launch we’ve also been collecUng every bit of detail possible from the AppStore – rankings, price changes, you name it – and tying it back to our analyUcs. • Our stuﬀ’s in a few hundred applicaUons right now – it’s been in the #1 free and paid applicaUon several Umes each, and has been in at least ten of the top 100 free applicaUons for a while now. • With all of this data, you learn a few things.

ApplicaUon Rankings (How does the AppStore work, anyway?) For every ranked list on the AppStore, here’s a good rule of thumb: 24‐hour rolling window of units downloaded (So bunch up your publicity.)

What do you get by appearing on a list? • Appearing on a top 100 list increases daily new users by an average of 2.3x. • Greater gains result from appearing in the top 25 and top 10 lists – more variable, but oaen an order of magnitude. • However, it’s not permanent. Apple’s AppStore is structured for maximum turnover.

Case Study A: Well‐Timed Price Cut

Case Study B: Not‐So‐Well Timed

Case Study C: CounterproducUve?

In general… • Don’t mess with a posiUve download trend. • Decreasing price is oaen worthwhile. • Aaer you’ve been broadly exposed, experiments have less eﬀect. The average price cut increased demand by 130%. The average price increase drops demand to 25%.

What do I need to get on a list? For free applicaUons: Top 25 Top 100 six months ago 10,000 1,000 three months ago 11,000 1,500 today 20,000 5,000 (Apple had a big Christmas!)

Case Study D: Happy Holidays

Do I have a community? (aka ‘How much is my app used?’) • So you’ve got a million downloads – congrats! But what percentage use your applicaUon the next day? The day aaer? • The biggest applicaUons in our system have +3MM downloads – but what kind of acUve user base does a download translate into?

In other words… • Users stop using the average applicaUons prely quickly. Long‐term audiences are generally 1% of total downloads. • Paid applicaUons generally retain their users longer than free applicaUons, although the drop‐oﬀ is sUll prely steep. • Sports seems beler at retaining users over the short term; entertainment at retaining users over the long term.

How long are they using it? • For certain applicaUons, the length of Ume users use the applicaUon is important. • Branded applicaUons care deeply about engagement. • ApplicaUons showing ads periodically also care about session length, for obvious reasons. • In general, every second the app’s open is a second it can be seen by or recommended to others.

So should I give it away or not? • Anyone browsing the top free applicaUons knows that adverUsing is an opUon. • The biggest player is AdMob, but Pinch Media has some partnerships with ad networks that supply some of these ads. • However… I used to be much more enthusiasUc about adverUsing than I am today. Here’s why:

Total ApplicaHon Runs Since First Use 12 10 Total ApplicaHon Runs 8 6 4 2 0 1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 Days Since First Use

Average ‘free vs. paid’ raUos: • for total unique users: 7.5 to 1 • for total number of Umes used: 6.6 to 1 • for total Ume spent using the applicaUon: 3.9 to 1

Answer: Hell no. Earning $0.70 in 80 sessions requires revenue of $8.75 per thousand runs. If you can show one ad per session, that’s an $8.75 CPM. Right now, with the ad market how it is, adverUsing rates of $0.50‐$2.00 CPM are much more typical. The typical applicaUon would have to bombard its users with ads to beat the money it’d make from paid sales.

But adverUsing isn’t always a bad idea. • Some applicaUons beneﬁt from network eﬀects, and get far more than 6.6x the users they’d get if they charged. • Some applicaUons are excepUonally ‘sUcky’ – users use the app far more than average. • Some applicaUons – generally, ones catering to people with money – can command beler adverUsing rates than usual.

To sum up… • Only a few (<5%) high‐performing applicaUons are suitable for adverUsing right now, and you don’t know if you’ve got one unUl aaer launch. • In other words ‐ unless there’s something inherent about the app that screams free, sell it. • Install analyUcs in your applicaUon and watch your sessions per user over Ume. Within a few weeks, you’ll know if you’ve got a sUcky applicaUon. • Only release an ad‐supported version when you have data strongly indicaUng success.

Again, summing up ‐ • Usage Ume declines by almost a third in the ﬁrst month aaer use, stabilizing at just under ﬁve minutes. • Paid applicaUons see slightly more use soon aaer installaUon, and are used for slightly longer periods. • The biggest usage diﬀerenUator is category – games are used for longer periods than any other type of applicaUon.

This was actually a sneak preview • AppStore‐wide reports are being generated daily and will be incorporated into Pinch Media’s reporUng site in the near future. • Any applicaUon using our analyUcs library and acUvely sending in data gets access to all ecosystem‐wide reporUng for free. • Pinch Media wants to know what else you want baked into this reporUng.